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equilibrium erdentempel
Artist: Equilibrium
Album: Erdentempel
Genre: Epic Viking Metal
Release Date: 6th June 2014
Label: Nuclear Blast


Album Review

Germany's Viking metal quintet have seemed quiet for a while since 2010's 'Rekreatur,' but despite a four year gap between albums- their longest yet- the well awaited fourth full length comes to fruition with 'Erdentempel.' While this band does follow the Viking/ folk metal tradition, EQUILIBRIUM tries to avoid the conventional death trap of trying to be like a clone of HEIDEVOLK or ELUVEITIE, but still retaining elements from both bands. The overall sound is more of a melodic death metal influenced as opposed to black metal, but it doesn't quite stand out as anomaly. Think SEPTIC FLESH's epic atmosphere meets AVATAR with violins and flutes in the mix. The result is a strong effort, but compared to the previous effort of 'Rekreatur' the difference is minimal. The song structures are basically the same with hard, chugging riffs and an overabundance of folk elements to try and soften the blows of the more metal side of the music.

Tracks like ‘Was lange währt’ and ‘Stein meiner Ahnen’ are the staple bread and butter of the album. Machine gun drumming, snarls that are clear and not too guttural (despite being in a language other than English so the average listener may not quite understand what is being said- thankfully the music is more than engaging enough that listeners won't really care) with some excellent riffs that will appeal to any average melodic death or folk metal fan. The atmosphere is a bit more orchestral than the upbeat, contrasting folksy tunes that are heard from some bands like FINNITROLL, but EQUILIBIRIUM provide a few moments that may seem almost cheesy, but suit their line of work perfectly. ‘Uns'rer Flöten Klang’ features more “group chorus” work than just the snarling- it's the closest thing to come to clean vocals- and the overall rhythm of the music is almost tavern drinking music with touches of epic symphonic. The average metal fan may find it a bit out of place but folk metal purists will probably raise a beer to it. The tune is catchy, playful, and the interlude is a fantastic touch right before the guitars come in.

Other tracks like ‘The Unknown Episode’ almost completely abandon the whole melodic death side and opt for strictly a more folk metal oriented tune with rough, but clean singing (more group singing if anything) and a heavy use of flutes among the guitars. The result is a non-cliché closing- no epic Lord Of The Rings outro or a heavy track that sounds like too many of the other tracks on the album- that leaves a nice imprint on listener memory. For those just getting into EQUILIBRIUM, they might find 'Erdentempel' pretty impressive and quite a fun ride- the middle part of the album is definitely the highlight. But, for more seasoned listeners, while their loyalty may bring them to enjoy the new effort, compared to previous releases the album doesn't do too much as far as deviating from the already-well-known formula that the band has set up for themselves over the years. This is certainly not the finest piece of metal that has been released this year so far, but it will definitely grab attention for anyone who likes a more upbeat album that still hits hard and doesn't sound like a dime-a-dozen out in the already heavily populated Viking metal world.


Tracklist

01. Ankunft - 0:51
02. Was lange währt - 5:10
03. Waldschrein - 5:20
04. Karawane - 4:52
05. Uns'rer Flöten Klang - 4:21
06. Freiflug - 4:58
07. Heavy Chill - 6:06
08. Wirtshaus Gaudi - 2:41
09. Stein meiner Ahnen - 5:42
10. Wellengang                - 5:11
11. Apokalypse - 5:14
12. The Unknown Episode - 5:46


Line-up

Robert "Robse" Dahn – vocals
René Berthiaume – guitar + keyboards
Tuval "Hati" Refaeli – drums  
Dom R. Crey – guitar
Jen Majura – bass (formerly Sandra van Eldik)


Website

http://equilibrium-metal.net / https://www.facebook.com/equilibrium


Cover Picture

equilibrium erdentempel


Rating

Music: 7
Sound: 7
Total: 7 / 10


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